Method of preserving green fodder and product



' entirely useless as they mature.

Patented May 10, 1 938 METHOD OF PRESERVING GREEN FODDER AND PRODUCTRobert G. Ferris, Harvard, Ill., assignor to Starline, Inc., Harvard,111., a corporation of Illinois No Drawing. Application April 8, 1937,Serial No. 135,818

6 Claims. (Cl. 99-8) This invention is a method of preserving greenfodder and a product for such use.

The usual hay crops, such as alfalfa, clover, etc., contain morenourishment if mowed while young before valuable nutritive matter hasbeen transformed to cellulose. Certain other plants are highlynourishing when young, but become It is, therefore,

desirable to mow such crops while young and preserve themuntil neededfor use. Furthermore, certain grain crops, like cats, can often be usedonce for young green fodder and still mamm a full grain crop, and thisis desirable if the young and green material can be preserved. Makinghay of this very young green material by ordinary sun drying isgenerally impractical and is somewhat destructive of the nutritivevalue.

As set forth in my copending application Ser. No. 11,163, filed March14, 1935, now issued as Patent No. 2,084,797, June 22, 1937, theseobjections may be overcome by the use of sulfur dioxide in the mannertherein described, by impregnating the green fodder with a gas. Thepresent invention is an improvement upon the process therein described.In the present process a gaseous preservative comprising phosphoruspentoxide is used as the impregnating medium. Preferably the phosphoruspentoxide is generated by the use of a phosphorus-sulfur compound ormixture, preferably phosphorus pentasulfide (P285). This material may bepro- .vided in stick or candle form and is simply burned to produce thegaseous preservative.

The preferred impregnation method is that described in my copendingapplication 11,163, filed March 14, 1935, which may beconvenientlycarried out in an ordinary silo provided with the usual doors located atdifferent levels in a vertical line. It is a common practice in fillingsilos to close two or three doors above the level of the silo. The levelat which the silo is filled with a" body of gas sufiiciently dense to bean effective preservative is readily visible under normal conditionsbecause of the smoke-like character of the gas due to the presence ofP205 particles, the resulting gas forming a visible cloud with a fairlydefinite upper surface.

' The material is burned until the cloud fills sev- 5 eral feet at thebottom of the silo and the filling of the silo with the fodder choppedin short lengths is then commenced. The fodder is supplied by the usualsilo filler and showers in .feet above the surface upon which thefalling 20 fodder comes to rest.

By this very simple method the fresh green and damp fodder may bethoroughly preserved against fermentation or putrefaction until neededfor use. 25

The use of phosphorus containing materials as distinguished from sulfuralone has several advantages. In the first piace, fodder apparentlystays'somewhat greener than with sulfur. Secondly, the phosphorus itselfhas some food value. 30

More important, particularly when used in combination with sulfur, thephosphorus has the very great advantage of producing a highlyundesirable odor. Sulfur dioxide is extremely poi-' sonous and yet itsuse is so common that there 35 is some tendency for workmen to hold itin contempt. On the other hand, with the phosphorus the odor isunpleasant, and when P285 is used the odor is decidedly disagreeable, sothat there is not the slightest. danger of a workmans go- 40 ing intothe gas-filled silo to recover a. tool or other object. 4

Likewise, particularly when used in combination with sulfur,IP2O5apparently will operate successfully with a lower moisture content inthe fodder than sulfur alone.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The method of treating green fodder with a gaseous preservativeheavier than air, consisting of filling the bottom of a storagereceptacle largely with a preservative gas including P205, showering thefodder through the layer of gas to the bottom of the receptacle, andsupplying additional gas from time to time to maintain a level thereofsubstantially above that of the accumulated fodder while the latter isbeing added to the receptacle.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1, in which the gas also containssulfur dioxide.

3. An article of manufacture for preservation of green fodder, a candleconsisting essentially of P285.

4. The method of preserving green fodder 10 which comprises impregnatingthe green fodder in a substantially closed chamber with a preservativegas including P205 and sulfur dioxide,.

and maintaining the impregnated fodder therein for a prolonged storageperiod.

5. The method as set forth in claim 4 in which the preservative gasconsists essentially of P205 and sulfur dioxide.

6. The method as set forth in claim 4 in which the gaseous mixture isproduced by burning phos phorus pentasulflde. v

ROBERT G. FERRIS.

